1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to software and computer products, and more particularly, to software and computer products for managing data and files.
2. Background of the Invention
Many existing software allow users to create and store electronic files. Generally, these software provide a user interface that allows a user to select a location in which an electronic file can be created or stored. For example, a user can create a folder, a subfolder within a folder, or a subfolder within another subfolder, and the electronic file can be stored or created in the folder or subfolder. As such, electronic files of existing software are generally organized in “layers” of folders and subfolders. To retrieve a previously stored electronic file, a user would need to navigate through the folders and subfolders, one layer at a time, until the user has accessed the final subfolder in which the electronic filed is stored. The user then selects the file desired to be retrieved from the accessed subfolder. Sometimes, a user may wish a file to be associated with a plurality of folders or subfolders, such that the same file can be retrieved from different folders or subfolders. However, existing software do not allow an electronic file be associated with a plurality of folders or subfolders. As such, users of the existing software systems who wish to associate a file with multiple folders and/or subfolders may need to save the same file under different folders and/or subfolders. Such method disadvantageously uses a lot of storage space, and renders data and file management difficult. Also, such method requires a user to update all copies of the file in a data base if a change needs to be made to the file. Often times, a user may forget that a copy of the file being updated is also stored in another location, and as a result, only updates one copy of the file and not the other. This creates inconsistency in the duplicated files, compounding the difficulty in the management of files.
Existing user interfaces generally provide a navigation tool that displays a folder name, a subfolder name, and a file name in a tree configuration that represents a path in which they are created and stored. Users using such user interfaces can navigate to desired files based on the names (or identifiers) of the files and the names of the folders in which the files are stored. However, such name-based navigation method may be inefficient, and may not be desirable for certain applications.
Also, in existing user interfaces, once a desirable folder is located, the name of the objects within the folder are generally displayed in a column or table format. However, a user may wish to view a folder, a subfolder, or a stored file according to other attributes besides the name attribute. A user may also wish to view content within a folder in other formats besides the column format.
In addition, existing user interfaces do not allow a user to conveniently sort or filter contents being displayed, nor do they allow a user to conveniently sort or filter contents according to their attributes. Further, many existing software provide users with a finite number of attributes that may not be useful for a particular user. Such software generally do not allow users to create their own customized attributes for their specific needs.
Accordingly, new user interfaces and new methods for displaying and/or retrieving information are desirable.